[Event "Warsaw m"]
[Site "Warsaw"]
[Date "1844.11.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "F Alexander Hoffmann"]
[Black "Alexander Petrov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1bqk2r/pppp1Npp/8/2bnP3/8/6K1/PB4PP/RN1Q3R b kq - 0 12"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "1844.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

12... O-O $3 13. Nxd8 Bf2+ 14. Kh3 d6+ 15. e6 Nf4+ 16. Kg4 Nxe6 17. Nxe6 Bxe6+
18. Kg5 Rf5+ 19. Kg4 h5+ 20. Kh3 Rf3# 0-1

[Event "World op 18th"]
[Site "Philadelphia"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pupols, Viktors"]
[Black "Malaniuk, Vladimir P"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A80"]
[WhiteElo "2210"]
[BlackElo "2505"]
[Annotator "John Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "1990.06.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.11.17"]

1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 h6 3. Bh4 g5 4. Bg3 Nf6 5. e3 Bg7 6. Bd3 d6 7. c3 Nc6 8. Qc2 e6
9. Ne2 Qe7 10. Nd2 Bd7 11. b4 O-O 12. h4 Ng4 13. hxg5 hxg5 14. Bc4 b5 15. Bb3 (
15. Bd3 a5 16. Rb1 {maintained equal chances.}) 15... a5 16. a3 axb4 17. cxb4
Ra7 (17... Nxb4 18. Qxc7 Rfc8 19. Qxd6 Qxd6 20. Bxd6 Nd3+ 21. Kf1 Ndxf2 {was
good for Black.}) 18. Ra2 Nd8 19. e4 f4 20. e5 Nh6 21. exd6 cxd6 22. Bh2 Ndf7 (
22... d5 {followed by ...Nc6 was still better for Black.}) 23. Qd3 e5 $2 {This
gives up the central White squares (e4 and d5)} (23... Rfa8) 24. dxe5 dxe5 25.
Nc3 g4 26. Nd5 Qd8 27. Bg1 Bf5 28. Ne4 Rc7 29. f3 {The bishop returns to the
game and now it's White who is winning!} Rb7 ({Correctly realizing that} 29...
Rc1+ {is easily met by 30.Kd2 and the rook has to backpedal.} 30. Kd2) 30. Bc5
Kh8 31. Qe2 {White could capture on f8, but sees no compelling reason to do so.
With a clear positional advantage but a time control of 30 moves in 90 minutes
followed by sudden death in one hour, Pupols decides the initiative is the
most important factor in the game.} gxf3 32. gxf3 Re8 33. Ndc3 Be6 34. Bxe6
Rxe6 35. Rd2 Qe8 36. Bf2 Rb8 37. Rd5 Rc6 38. Nc5 Rd6 39. Qd3 Rbd8 40. Rxd6 Rxd6
41. Qxb5 {Viktors now has achieved material gain without cashing in his
positional chips.} Qa8 42. N3e4 Rd8 {[#]} 43. Bh4 $2 ({With} 43. a4 $1 {
followed by castling a few moves later Pupols could have set a new record for
the longest delay in castling. At the time this game was played the record was
46 moves in Bobotsov-Ivkov, Hoogoven 1966 (it's currently 48 moves according
to Tim Krabbe).    Of course kingside castling is more than a little drafty
and allows the knight on h6 to enter the game via f5 which might not be
pleasant for White in a mad time scramble with no increment.}) 43... Qxa3 44.
Bxd8 {This accepts that the game is going to be a draw but with} (44. O-O $1 {
White would preserve a small advantage. For example} Rg8 45. Kh1 Nf5 46. Qd7
N7h6 47. Be1 Qa2 48. Rg1 Qf7 49. Qxf7 Nxf7 50. Bc3) 44... Qc1+ 45. Kf2 Qxh1 46.
Qe8+ Kh7 47. Ne6 Qh2+ 48. Ke1 Qg1+ 49. Kd2 Qg2+ 50. Ke1 Qg1+ 51. Kd2 Qg2+ 52.
Kc1 Qf1+ 53. Kd2 Qg2+ 54. Kc1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Championship"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.09"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Zhang, Derek"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E71"]
[WhiteElo "2266"]
[BlackElo "2230"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3 Nbd7 7. Bd3 e5 8. d5 a5
9. Qd2 a4 10. Nge2 Nc5 11. Bc2 Bd7 12. O-O-O Qb8 13. f3 Qa7 14. g4 Qa6 15. Bxc5
dxc5 16. Bd3 Ne8 17. Nb1 c6 18. Na3 cxd5 19. exd5 Nd6 20. Nc3 b5 21. Ncxb5 Bxb5
22. Nxb5 a3 23. b3 e4 24. Nc7 Qa7 25. Nxa8 exd3 26. Qxd3 Rxa8 27. Rde1 Qb6 28.
h4 Qd8 29. g5 Nf5 30. f4 Qd6 31. Re4 h5 32. Qh3 Bd4 33. Rhe1 Kg7 34. Qh2 Qb6
35. Qh3 Qb4 36. Rd1 Bf2 37. Rf1 Ng3 0-1

[Event "Championship"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.16"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Levine, Joseph"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B08"]
[WhiteElo "2142"]
[BlackElo "2230"]
[PlyCount "145"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. h3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Bd3 Qxc5 8. Be3
Qa5 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Qd2 O-O 11. Rfb1 a6 12. a4 Qc7 13. a5 e6 14. Bd4 e5 15. Be3
Nc5 16. b4 Ne6 17. b5 Nc5 18. Bxc5 dxc5 19. bxa6 bxa6 20. Bc4 Bb7 21. Nd5 Bxd5
22. Bxd5 Nxd5 23. Qxd5 Rad8 24. Qc4 Rd6 25. Rb6 Rxb6 26. axb6 Qxb6 27. Rxa6
Qb1+ 28. Kh2 Qc1 29. g3 Kh8 30. h4 h6 31. Kg2 Qd1 32. Qxc5 Qe2 33. Qc6 f5 34.
Ra4 Kh7 35. Qc4 Qd1 36. Ra7 Qd6 37. Ra6 Qb8 38. Rc6 Qb7 39. Qd5 fxe4 40. Qxe4
Rf6 41. Rc4 Qxe4 42. Rxe4 Rc6 43. c4 Kg8 44. Kf1 Rc5 45. Ke2 Kf7 46. Nd2 Ra5
47. Re3 Bf8 48. Ne4 Ra2+ 49. Kf3 Ke6 50. Rb3 Ra6 51. Kg4 Rc6 52. Rc3 h5+ 53.
Kf3 Bb4 54. Rc2 Ra6 55. Rb2 Kf5 56. Rb3 Be7 57. Rc3 Bb4 58. Rd3 Ra2 59. c5 Rc2
60. Rd6 Rc3+ 61. Nxc3 Bxc3 62. Ra6 Bd4 63. c6 Ke6 64. c7+ Kd7 65. Rxg6 Kxc7 66.
Rh6 Kd7 67. Rxh5 Ke6 68. Rh6+ Kd5 69. Ra6 e4+ 70. Ke2 Ke5 71. h5 Kf5 72. h6 Kg5
73. h7 1-0

[Event "Championship"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Levine, Joseph"]
[Black "Mahajan, Rushaan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "2142"]
[BlackElo "2179"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. O-O b6 8. Re1
Bb7 9. e5 Nd7 10. h4 Qc7 11. Qe2 h6 12. Nf1 g5 13. hxg5 hxg5 14. Bxg5 Bxg5 15.
Nxg5 Qxe5 16. Qxe5 Ncxe5 17. f4 Ng4 18. c3 Kf8 19. d4 cxd4 20. cxd4 Rc8 21.
Rac1 Kg7 22. Bf3 Ndf6 23. Kg2 Ba6 24. Bxg4 Nxg4 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. Ne3 Nxe3+ 27.
Rxe3 Rc2+ 28. Kg1 Bc4 29. b3 Be2 30. a3 Bg4 31. Kf1 b5 32. Ke1 Kg6 33. Nf3 Bxf3
34. Rxf3 Kf5 35. Re3 Ra2 36. b4 a6 37. Kd1 Rg2 38. Re5+ Kg4 39. Rg5+ Kf3 40.
Rg7 Rxg3 41. Rxf7 Ke4 42. Rf6 Kd3 43. Kc1 Re3 44. f5 exf5 45. Rxf5 Kxd4 46. Kb2
Re6 47. Rh5 Kc4 48. Rh3 d4 49. Kc2 Re2+ 50. Kd1 Re3 51. Rh6 Rxa3 52. Rd6 Kd3
53. Kc1 Kc3 54. Kb1 d3 55. Rd8 {and B won in a few more moves} 0-1

[Event "Championship"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Shubin, Daniel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C19"]
[WhiteElo "2230"]
[BlackElo "2150"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Nf3 Nbc6 8.
Bd3 Qb6 9. dxc5 Qxc5 10. O-O Bd7 11. Rb1 Na5 12. Ng5 h6 13. Qh5 g6 14. Qh4 Qxc3
15. Nxf7 Rh7 16. Nd6+ Kd8 17. Bxg6 Rg7 18. Nf7+ Ke8 19. Bh5 Qxc2 20. Bxh6 Rg8
21. Nd6+ Kd8 22. Bg5 Rg7 23. Bf7 1-0

[Event "Championship"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.16"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Sang, Tian"]
[Black "Levine, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2352"]
[BlackElo "2210"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 a6 6. Bb3 Ba7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nbd2
Re8 9. Nc4 d6 10. Be3 b5 11. Ncd2 Na5 12. Bc2 c5 13. Re1 Nc6 14. a4 Ng4 15. Bg5
f6 16. Bh4 Be6 17. axb5 axb5 18. c4 Nb4 19. h3 Nh6 20. cxb5 Bd7 21. Bb3+ Kf8
22. Bc4 Bb6 23. Rxa8 Qxa8 24. g4 g5 25. Bg3 Ng8 26. Nh2 Ne7 27. Nhf1 Kg7 28.
Ne3 Rh8 29. f3 Qe8 30. Qb3 h5 31. Kg2 Bxb5 32. Bxb5 Qxb5 33. Qe6 Bd8 34. Ndc4
Nxd3 35. Nxd6 Qxb2+ 36. Kf1 Rf8 37. Nef5+ Nxf5 38. Nxf5+ Kh8 39. Qd7 Rg8 40.
Qf7 Nf4 41. Bxf4 Qb5+ 42. Kf2 Qe8 43. Qxe8 Rxe8 44. Be3 hxg4 45. hxg4 Bb6 46.
Rb1 1-0

[Event "Premier"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Frantz, Joseph"]
[Black "Rozenfeld, Yevgeniy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E81"]
[WhiteElo "2044"]
[BlackElo "2047"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nbd7 8. Nh3
c5 9. d5 Ne5 10. Nf2 Qa5 11. Be2 b5 12. f4 Nxc4 13. Bxc4 bxc4 14. O-O Rb8 15.
Rae1 Nd7 16. Re2 Nb6 17. f5 Na4 18. Nxa4 Qxa4 19. Nd1 Qxa2 20. Bh6 Bd4+ 21. Kh1
Re8 22. h4 f6 23. Rf3 Rb3 24. Rf4 Rd3 25. Qc1 Qb3 26. Rf1 Rh3+ 0-1

[Event "Premier"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.15"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Airapetian, Chouchanik"]
[Black "Frantz, Joseph"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C95"]
[WhiteElo "2041"]
[BlackElo "2044"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3
d6 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. a4 Re8 (12... c5 {is a little more
common. Two main choices on move} 13. -- (13. Bc2 Re8 ({or} 13... Qc7 14. d5 c4
15. Nf1) 14. d5 c4 15. Nf1 (15. b3 $5 cxb3 16. Nxb3 Qc7 17. Bd2 $14) 15... Bf8
16. Ng3 g6 17. Bg5 {transposes into a much more popular line, often continuing}
h6 18. Be3 Nc5 19. Qd2 $14) (13. d5 c4 14. Bc2 Nc5 15. Nf1 {with a typically
unclear Ruy Lopez/Spanish position.})) 13. Ng5 Rf8 14. Qe2 b4 (14... c5 {is a
normal Spanish idea.}) 15. Ngf3 c5 16. d5 Nh5 ({The loose knight on the rim
could cause some problems (see next note).} 16... a5 $14) 17. c4 $6 (17. Nc4
bxc3 (17... Nf4 18. Bxf4 exf4 19. a5 $16) 18. bxc3 a5 (18... Nf4 19. Bxf4 exf4
20. a5 $16) 19. Nfxe5 $16) 17... Nf4 18. Qf1 g5 $2 ({The kingside pawn storm
must have looked imposing at the time, but in reality White is well-positioned
to repel Black's attempt, and a little later the advanced black pawns will
help White when she is ready to open kingside lines for her own attack.} 18...
Nf6 19. g3 Ng6 $14) 19. g3 Ng6 20. Bc2 Kh8 21. Nh2 Bc8 22. Ndf3 Rg8 23. Ng4 Kg7
24. Ne3 f6 25. Nf5+ Kh8 26. Nh2 a5 27. b3 Ra6 28. Qe2 Bf8 29. Ng4 Ne7 30. Nge3
Bg7 31. Bd2 Nf8 32. Qf3 Nfg6 33. Kf1 Ra7 34. Ke2 Nxf5 35. exf5 Ne7 36. Be4 Rf8
37. Rh1 Bd7 38. Rh2 Ng8 39. Rah1 h6 {Black's lack of space and poor
coordination has allowed White complete freedom to prepare the kingside break
for the last 20 moves. Now it's time.} 40. h4 Rf7 41. Ng4 Be8 42. Qe3 Bd7 43.
hxg5 fxg5 44. Qxg5 Qxg5 45. Bxg5 Bxf5 46. Bxf5 Rxf5 47. Bxh6 Nxh6 48. Nxh6 Rf8
49. Nf5+ Kg8 50. Nxd6 1-0

[Event "Premier"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.16"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Moroney, Timothy"]
[Black "Rupel, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2032"]
[BlackElo "2058"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 a6 4. Bd3 c5 5. c3 cxd4 6. cxd4 Nc6 7. Ne2 g6 8. Nbc3
e6 9. h4 h5 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Qd2 Kf8 12. Qf4 Kg7 13. O-O-O Nh6 14. f3 f6 15.
exf6+ Bxf6 16. g4 hxg4 17. fxg4 Nf7 18. Bxf6+ Qxf6 19. Qg3 g5 20. Rdf1 Qe7 21.
Kb1 Nb4 22. hxg5 Rxh1 23. Rxh1 Nxd3 24. Qxd3 Qxg5 25. Qh7+ Kf8 26. Rf1 Qg7 27.
Qh5 Bd7 28. Nf4 Ke7 29. Ncxd5+ exd5 30. Nxd5+ Kf8 31. Nf6 Bb5 32. Qc5+ Nd6 33.
Qxd6+ Kf7 34. Nh5+ Bxf1 35. Qd7+ 1-0

[Event "Premier"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Nguyen, Thanh Tien"]
[Black "Rupel, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C10"]
[WhiteElo "2070"]
[BlackElo "2058"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 e6 4. Ngf3 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. O-O Nxe4 8.
Bxe4 Nd7 9. Re1 Nf6 10. Bd3 b6 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. c3 O-O 13. Qf3 Qe8 14. Qh3 Kh8
15. Bg5 g6 16. Re3 Nd5 17. Bxe7 Nxe7 18. Qh4 f6 19. Rh3 1-0

[Event "Premier"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Moroney, Timothy"]
[Black "Nguyen, Thanh Tien"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B09"]
[WhiteElo "2032"]
[BlackElo "2070"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bg1 e5 8. dxe5
Nc6 9. h3 Nh6 10. exd6 cxd6 11. Qd2 f5 12. Bc4+ Kh8 13. O-O-O Qa5 14. Nd4 fxe4
15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. Qxd6 Nf5 17. Qxc6 Bxc3 18. Qxa8 Bg7 19. Qxa7 Qb4 20. Bb3 e3
21. Bxe3 Be6 22. Rhe1 Rc8 23. Bd2 Bxb3 24. Re8+ Rxe8 25. Bxb4 Bg8 26. g4 Ng3
27. Rd7 Ne2+ 28. Kd2 Bf6 29. g5 Bxb2 30. c3 Nxf4 31. Qd4+ 1-0

[Event "Invitational"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Vijayakumar, Advaith"]
[Black "Colasurdo, James"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "1996"]
[BlackElo "2028"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 Qa5+ 7. Nbd2 Bd6 8.
O-O O-O 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 h6 12. Bd2 Qc7 13. Bc3 e5 14. Re1
exd4 15. Qxd4 Nf6 16. Bc2 Rd8 17. Qh4 Be7 18. Be5 Qb6 19. Qf4 Ng4 20. Bd4 Bc5
21. Rad1 Bxd4 22. Rxd4 Be6 23. Rxe6 Rxd4 24. Nxd4 fxe6 25. Qxg4 Qxb2 26. g3 Re8
27. Nxe6 Qf6 28. Nf4 g5 29. Nh5 Qf7 30. c5 Kf8 31. Bb3 Qg6 32. Qf3+ Ke7 33. g4
Kd8 34. Ng3 Kc7 35. Nf5 Qf6 36. Qg3+ Qe5 37. Nxh6 Qxg3+ 38. hxg3 Re5 39. f4
Rxc5 40. Nf7 b5 41. Nxg5 Rc1+ 42. Kg2 c5 43. Bg8 Kd6 44. Ne4+ Ke7 45. f5 c4 46.
f6+ Kf8 47. f7 Rc2+ 48. Kf3 Rh2 49. Nf6 1-0

[Event "Invitational"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Bishop, Alan"]
[Black "Lee, Brian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B80"]
[WhiteElo "2000"]
[BlackElo "1849"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2
Bb7 9. g4 b4 10. Na4 d5 11. g5 Nfd7 12. exd5 Bxd5 13. Bg2 Ne5 14. b3 Nbc6 15.
O-O-O Nxd4 16. Qxd4 Nxf3 17. Qb2 Qe7 18. Nb6 Rd8 19. Nxd5 exd5 20. Bf4 Nxg5 21.
Bxd5 Rc8 22. Kb1 Ne6 23. Rhe1 Rg8 24. Bd6 Qf6 25. Be5 Qe7 26. Bd6 Qf6 27. Be5
Qe7 28. Re4 Qg5 29. Bb7 Rc5 30. Bf4 Qf6 31. Qc1 Be7 32. Qd2 Nxf4 33. Qd8# 1-0

[Event "Invitational"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.15"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Min, Ryan"]
[Black "Beck, Alec"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "1898"]
[BlackElo "1916"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. h3 e5 7. d5 a5 8. g4 Na6
9. Be3 Nd7 10. Be2 Ndc5 11. Qc2 f5 12. gxf5 gxf5 13. Bg5 Qe8 14. Rg1 Kh8 15.
Nd2 Qf7 16. O-O-O h6 17. Bh4 Nb4 18. Qb1 fxe4 19. a3 Nbd3+ 20. Kc2 Nf4 21. b4
axb4 22. axb4 Na4 23. Ndxe4 Nxc3 24. Nxc3 Bf5+ 25. Bd3 Nxd3 26. Rxd3 Bxd3+ 27.
Kxd3 e4+ 28. Kc2 Qf5 29. Kb3 Qe5 30. Rg3 Rf3 31. Rxf3 exf3 32. Qd3 Qf4 33. Bg3
Qc1 34. Na4 Qa1 0-1

[Event "Invitational"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.16"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Beck, Alec"]
[Black "Liang, Yu-Cheng"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D07"]
[WhiteElo "1916"]
[BlackElo "1899"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3 e5 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. dxe5 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 Bg4
8. e3 Nxe5 9. Be2 O-O-O+ 10. Kc2 Nxf3 11. Bxf3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Ne7 13. a3 Bxc3
14. bxc3 Nc6 15. Rg1 g6 16. e4 Ne5 17. Bf4 Rhe8 18. Bg5 Nxf3 19. Bxd8 Nxg1 20.
Rxg1 Kxd8 21. f3 Re5 22. Rd1+ Ke7 23. Rb1 b6 24. Kd3 Ra5 25. Ra1 Rg5 26. Ra2 h5
27. Ke3 Ra5 28. f4 Ra4 29. Kd3 b5 30. f5 gxf5 31. exf5 Kf6 32. Kc2 c5 33. Kb3
Kxf5 34. Rf2+ Rf4 35. Rd2 Kg5 36. Rd5+ Rf5 37. h4+ Kg4 38. Rxf5 Kxf5 39. a4
bxa4+ 40. Kxa4 Ke4 41. Kb5 Kd5 42. c4+ Kd4 0-1

[Event "Invitational"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Liang, Yu-Cheng"]
[Black "Yan, Jeffrey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "1899"]
[BlackElo "1958"]
[PlyCount "144"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 Re8 8.
Be2 c5 9. dxc5 Ne4 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 Qa5 12. Bb2 Qxc5 13. Qd3 Bd7 14. Qd4
Nc6 15. Qxc5 Nxc5 16. Rad1 Be6 17. Nd4 Na5 18. Bb5 Rec8 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Rd4
a6 21. Be2 b5 22. Rc1 Na4 23. Ba1 Nc4 24. e4 Rc5 25. exd5 exd5 26. Rcd1 Ncb6
27. Bf3 Re8 28. Kf1 Nxc3 29. Bxc3 Rxc3 30. Bxd5+ Nxd5 31. Rxd5 Rc2 32. R5d2
Rec8 33. Ke1 a5 34. Rxc2 Rxc2 35. Rd2 Rc8 36. Ke2 Kf7 37. Ke3 Ke6 38. f3 Rc3+
39. Kf2 a4 40. f4 Rc5 41. g3 a3 42. Ke3 Rc1 43. Rd3 b4 44. Kd4 Rc2 45. Rb3 Rxh2
46. Rxb4 Rxa2 47. Ke4 Re2+ 48. Kf3 a2 49. Ra4 Rb2 50. Ra5 Kd6 51. Ke4 Kc6 52.
Kd4 Kb6 53. Ra3 Kb5 54. Kc3 Rg2 55. Kd4 Kb4 56. Ra8 Kb3 57. Rb8+ Kc2 58. Ra8
Kb1 59. Rb8+ Rb2 60. Re8 a1=Q 61. Re1+ Ka2 62. Rxa1+ Kxa1 63. g4 Rg2 64. g5 h5
65. gxh6 gxh6 66. f5 Rf2 67. Ke5 h5 68. f6 h4 69. Ke6 h3 70. f7 h2 71. Ke7
Rxf7+ 72. Kxf7 h1=Q 0-1

[Event "Challengers"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.15"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Wang, Felicity"]
[Black "Polich, Duane"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "1639"]
[BlackElo "1861"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. f4 d6 4. Nf3 Nd7 5. Bd3 e5 6. c3 Qe7 7. O-O Ngf6 8. Qe2
Nh5 9. fxe5 dxe5 10. d5 O-O 11. c4 Nf4 12. Qd1 Nc5 13. Bc2 f5 14. Nc3 fxe4 15.
Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Qc5+ 17. Kh1 Qxc4 18. Bc2 Qe2 19. Qxe2 Nxe2 20. Re1 Nd4 21.
Nxd4 exd4 22. Bb3 Kh8 23. Bd2 Bf5 24. Re7 Bd3 25. Rxc7 Rf2 26. Rd1 Raf8 27.
Rcc1 Be4 28. Bb4 Rxg2 29. Re1 Rf1+ 0-1

[Event "Challengers"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.16"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Matthews, Daniel M"]
[Black "Polich, Duane"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "1688"]
[BlackElo "1861"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 d6 3. Be2 Bg7 4. Be3 c5 5. c3 cxd4 6. Bxd4 Nf6 7. Bf3 Nc6 8. Be3
O-O 9. Ne2 Ne5 10. Ng3 b6 11. Be2 Bb7 12. f3 Rc8 13. O-O Qd7 14. Nd2 h5 15. Bg5
Qc7 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. f4 Nd7 18. Bxh5 gxh5 19. Nxh5 Kh7 20. Qg4 Rh8 21. Rf3
Rcg8 22. Nxf6+ Nxf6 23. Rh3+ 1-0

[Event "Challengers"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Velea, Stephanie"]
[Black "Polich, Duane"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "1699"]
[BlackElo "1861"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 d6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Be3 Nd7 5. f3 e5 6. d5 Ngf6 7. g4 a6 8. Qd2 h6
9. h4 Ng8 10. h5 g5 11. O-O-O Bf8 12. Nge2 Ndf6 13. Kb1 Bd7 14. Ng3 Ne7 15. Rc1
Qb8 16. Nd1 c5 17. dxc6 bxc6 18. c4 c5 19. Nc3 Nc6 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 Nd4
22. Bxd4 cxd4 23. Bd3 a5 24. Bf5 Qb7 25. Bxd7+ Qxd7 26. Nf5 Qa4 27. Rhe1 Kd7
28. Qe2 Rb8 29. c5 Qb5 30. Qh2 f6 31. cxd6 Qxd5 32. Rc7+ Kd8 33. Rec1 Bxd6 34.
Qc2 Qe6 35. Qc6 Rxb2+ {Time Forfeit} 1-0

[Event "Challengers"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Bian, Erin"]
[Black "Li, Edward"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C74"]
[WhiteElo "1677"]
[BlackElo "1644"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bc2 Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. O-O
Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. d3 Qd7 11. Nbd2 Rad8 12. Nf1 Rfe8 13. Ng3 Bg6 14. d4 exd4
15. cxd4 d5 16. e5 Ne4 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Bxe4 Nxd4 19. Nxd4 Bxe4 20. Rxe4 c5
21. Be3 cxd4 22. Rxd4 Qb5 23. Qg4 Qxb2 24. Rad1 Rxd4 25. Bxd4 Qc2 26. e6 f6 27.
Be3 Qg6 28. Qf3 Qc2 29. Qd5 Kf8 30. Rc1 Qe2 31. Qe4 Qxa2 32. Qxb7 Qxe6 33. Rc6
Qd5 34. Rxf6+ 1-0

[Event "Challengers"]
[Site "Kirkland"]
[Date "2020.02.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Wang, Felicity"]
[Black "Velea, Stephanie"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "1639"]
[BlackElo "1699"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. c3 a6 5. Ba4 Ngf6 6. Qe2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. d4
b5 9. Bc2 O-O 10. Re1 Re8 11. Nbd2 Qc7 12. Nf1 Nf8 13. Ng3 Bd7 14. h3 Reb8 15.
Nh2 b4 16. Be3 bxc3 17. bxc3 cxd4 18. cxd4 Rb2 19. Rec1 Rc8 20. Bd3 Qb8 21. Qf3
Rxc1+ 22. Bxc1 Rb4 23. Be3 Bb5 24. Qe2 Bxd3 25. Qxd3 Qb5 26. Qd2 Rb1+ 27. Rxb1
Qxb1+ 28. Nhf1 Nxe4 29. Nxe4 Qxe4 30. Qa5 Qb7 31. Nd2 Nd7 32. Nb3 Qb6 33. Qc3
Nf6 34. Qc8+ Bf8 35. d5 Qb4 36. dxe6 fxe6 37. Qxe6+ Kh8 38. Qc8 Kg8 39. Qxa6
Qe1+ 40. Kh2 d5 41. Qe6+ Kh8 42. Qc8 Qb4 43. Bc5 Qf4+ 44. g3 Qe4 45. Qxf8+ Ng8
46. Bd4 Qg6 47. a4 h5 48. a5 Kh7 49. Qxg7+ Qxg7 50. Bxg7 Kxg7 51. a6 Nf6 52. a7
Ne4 53. a8=Q Nc3 54. Qb7+ Kf6 55. Qc6+ Ke5 56. Qxc3+ d4 57. Qxd4+ Kf5 58. Qd5+
Kg6 59. Qe5 h4 60. Nd4 hxg3+ 61. Kxg3 Kf7 62. Qd6 Kg8 63. Qd7 Kf8 64. Ne6+ Kg8
65. Qg7# 1-0

[Event "Emeral City Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.06.20"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Bloom, Corey"]
[Black "Moore, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "1780"]
[BlackElo "1950"]
[Annotator "Michael Moore"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]
[TimeControl "5400+10"]
[WhiteClock "0:39:58"]
[BlackClock "1:16:41"]

{I am Black and my opponent is White} 1. f4 {[%emt 0:00:44] I haven't faced
the Bird's very often. I was considering playing the From's gambit but I have
had bad tournament results with it. They have multiple ways to decline the
gambit, or otherwise accept it, and in all cases White is always standing
healthy.} d5 {[%emt 0:01:45] Now I play based on pattern recognition (see
comments after 2...Bg4)} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:26] Against an opponent like me, I
feel like 2. e3 would be a practical improvement. Here I would probably just
try to play normal after 2...Nf6, and decide whether to go g6 or to try for
c6->Bg4->Nbd7 stuff. However, the knight being on f6 wouldn't allow me to play
my pretty attacking idea that I did in the game!} (2. e3 $1 Nf6 3. Nf3 {
Defending d5, therefore not allowing the position I got in my game. That
wasn't in my thoughts during the game of course.}) 2... Bg4 {[%emt 0:00:02] I
also play the White side of 1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 as well as 1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3.
Bg5, so this feels like "my" territory. I was somewhat worried about Ne5
actually, in terms of theoretical evaluation, since it looks so "testing" for
White. Well, I guess I would have just played Bf5 followed by f6, and try to
break for e5.} 3. e3 {[%emt 0:00:17] If any other move besides e3 or Ne5, then
I would just take on f3 and try to think of whether putting knight on d7 
(instead of c6) is an improvement or not.} (3. Ne5 Bf5 4. g4 f6 5. gxf5 fxe5 6.
fxe5 e6 $15 {This was the line I was considering after Ne5. Looking at it now,
I assess it as good for Black. White should probably play h4 to stop Qh4+, but
then I go Be7 and his king will have to find the best way to lose castling
rights.}) 3... Nd7 {[%emt 0:00:05] Well, I "know" to make this kind of move
just because I also play 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 with Black, and Nd7 is very
thematic to have a chance to play e5 (or otherwise play normal with e6)
without the knight being on c6...which would disrupt coordination.} 4. h3 {
[%emt 0:01:19] Giving up the bishop and allowing White to recapture with the
queen was slightly disappointing for me, so as a result I come up with an
aggressive idea!} Bxf3 {[%emt 0:00:45] Looks forced? The knight on f3 would
otherwise be controlling h4, therefore I don't have any Bh5 g4 e6 ideas.} 5.
Qxf3 {[%emt 0:00:10] I expected this and not gxf3, since h3 provokes a trade
under a special condition which is that it brings the queen out in the open.
Well, in a way that is.} e5 $5 {[%emt 0:00:01] Maybe the first key moment of
the game! I don't actually know how sound this is, however I have seen this
broad idea a lot against the Dutch. I also saw Leela beat Stockfish's Dutch
with 1. d4 f5 2. e4 quite recently. In that game, Stockfish didn't play the
opening correctly. Nonetheless, this led me to be more comfortable with
aggressive ideas where you try to break open the position with moves like e5
whenever a pawn is on f4. Of course it is a different circumstance, since the
point is that the d5 pawn is hanging. However, looking at these games
certainly allow my creativity to grow. (Note that I looked at the database and
engine after the game, as I always do, but I am trying to talk in a past tense
narrative as if I had just finished playing the game. This has been played in
10 games according to my database, on the app Chessify).} 6. Qxd5 {[%emt 0:01:
08] If White doesn't take the pawn, then I feel like Black has an advantage
thanks to Black being able to achieve all the classical-style developing moves
with no problems, against White's unusual setup.} Ngf6 $5 {[%emt 0:00:35] I
also feel like this counts as a second critical moment, because I could have
also just played c6 first and I feel like after Qf3, my position will be quite
solid. Also, I had to think about Qh4+...I have no idea what is the best move
here, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is Qh4+ followed by c6. If I were to
play Qh4+ then it is certainly not with the intention of recapturing the pawn
on f4; first of all my b7 pawn would be hanging awkwardly (along with my c7
pawn) and this is giving too much I feel. Second of all, I wanted to sacrifice
something this game. Alas I allowed him to take a second pawn with Ngf6.} (6...
c6 7. Qf3 Ngf6 $16 {I am down a pawn but I feel like there must be light
compensation. Maybe it is objectively poor but that is why Qh4+ needs to be
considered as well.}) (6... Qh4+ 7. Kd1 c6 8. Qf3 Ngf6 $13 {Interesting
position, and White has no way to stop my ability to castle queenside with an
interesting initiative. I would assess it as unclear. However, I am scared
about my queen on h4.} (8... O-O-O $16 {The idea is to allow the queen to
escape via e7 before playing Ngf6, but the problem here is that White might
have fxe5 Nxe5 Qf5+. Maybe I had something better than castling queenside,
after all I don't have to rush it.})) 7. Qxb7 {[%emt 0:04:05] He takes the
second pawn! The onslaught begins now.} Rb8 $5 {[%emt 0:00:05] Offering a
third pawn!! First, if he retreats then I am satisfied with how tied down
White's position is. The b2 pawn is a bit weak, and if it moves to b3, well
there is no way that I will by force have to allow White time to develop his
queenside in a harmonious way with Ba3 or something. I just play Bc5 and Qe7
in that case. Now, what if he takes the pawn? Well, I didn't really calculate
this, I just assumed that I have very dangerous compensation if he does. I was
probably going to just play Bc5 and look for if there are any ways to trap the
queen. I guess there isn't, but I can also play Ne4 after Bc5, with Qh4 ideas
of course.} 8. Qf3 {[%emt 0:00:21] Well, he wisely retreats the queen, trying
to acknowledge that he can make something with his two pawn advantage. I was
hoping he would take my a7 pawn, but I still get an interesting position.} (8.
Qxa7 $2 Bc5 9. Qa6 Ne4 $1 {Note that exf4 wouldn't be good because of d4 ideas.
} (9... exf4 $2 10. d4 $1)) 8... exf4 {[%emt 0:00:19] This seems obligatory,
and I also had Qxf4 Bd6 in mind.} 9. exf4 {[%emt 0:00:52] After either
recapture, I have mixed feelings. I don't like the fact that I am two pawns
down without any concrete tactical threats in the position, but I have
different, fun ways to attack with concrete strategies depending on White's
response.} (9. Qxf4 Bd6 {Maybe it was better for White than what happened in
the game, and I admit that maybe White just keeps an advantage. It still looks
scary though, it is very hard for White to advance his central pawns. Plus,
the g3 square is annoying for White.} 10. Qh4 c6 $14 {With the idea of Qc7})
9... Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:26] I just want to stop d4, provoke c3 (which would make
me happy to see), and stop castling, while castling myself. Pretty self
explanatory. The reason why I would be happy to see c3 is because White would
have made another pawn move in the opening while I would get to develop and
start tying down his pieces right away. I wouldn't be so worried about a d4
advance I think.} 10. Nc3 {[%emt 0:04:27] This move slightly annoyed me, and I
thought it was good. He might harass my bishop with Na4, plus I no longer have
any immediate Ne4 motifs. I was not worried about Qe2+, because it would trap
in his f1 bishop, and I was kind of happy to play Kf8.} (10. c3 O-O 11. d4 Re8+
12. Be2 Bb6 {Castling looks extremely risky after c5. I didn't really look
this deep during the game, but I just kind of know from experience that
resources like these can exist with danger.} 13. O-O c5 $13) (10. Qe2+ $6 Kf8
$13 {Not only is the bishop on f1 stuck, but the f4 pawn is a target. Surely I
can just play Nd5, Qf6 (or Qh4+ if allowed), and put the b rook on e8?}) 10...
O-O {[%emt 0:00:05] Self explanatory. My queenside is already positioned!} 11.
Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:35] I think this could be his best move, to really tie down on
the e4 square. However, blocking the d pawn like that looks so awkward and I
felt like White has to be extremely articulate with his moves here. He could
play d3 as well, but then that gives me the e3 square and it is more passive.}
(11. d3 Re8+ 12. Be2 Nb6 $15 {I want my knights to go to d5 so that one will
control e3. I assess this as good for Black.}) 11... Re8+ {[%emt 0:00:05] I
guess I could have also considered Nb6, but it just looks so natural to
disrupt his castling rights.} (11... Nb6 $5 {Interesting and I don't know how
to assess.}) 12. Kd1 {[%emt 0:00:16] It suddenly came to my realization that
he can try to simplify the position with Re1. I absolutely wanted to stop this,
so I played Qe7 instead of Nb6. This check was quite good I think, because if
Be7 then that just allows me to realize my plan with Nb6 in a satisfactory way.
He wouldn't be able to simplify with Re1, and his king would still be quite
stuck. The same applies after Ne2, which looks even worse for White of course.
If Kf1 then I guess I would also go Nb6, because the h1 rook is quite trapped.}
(12. Be2 Nb6 $13 {I assess this as unclear.}) (12. Kf1 Nb6 $13 {I also assess
this as unclear.}) 12... Qe7 {[%emt 0:01:42] Once again, stopping Re1. It also
turns out that I have a new idea with Rb6 to try to play for mate.} (12... Nb6
13. Re1 $16 {This is probably just a decisive advantage for White.}) 13. b3 {
[%emt 0:04:50]} Rb6 {[%emt 0:00:09] b3 would, in principle, restrict a knight
on b6, although with the b6 knight I was headed to d5. Anyway, I decided that
I should switch plans and go Rb6, because I felt like I can include Re6 now
and then Nb6 later anyway! Plus, I absolutely didn't want him to escape with
Bb2, Kc1, and like Qd1 or something.} 14. Bb2 {[%emt 0:03:32] I kind of wonder
if he can just ignore it by blocking later with Be2 or Ne2. Well okay, I guess
Be2 would be bad because of Bd4, but then this means Ne2 instead. Maybe this
was better and I would have felt hopeless.} Re6 {[%emt 0:00:06] As planned.}
15. Kc1 {[%emt 0:00:19] See my variation with Ne2.} (15. Ne2 Ba3 16. Kc1 Bxb2+
17. Kxb2 Rxe2 18. Bxe2 Qxe2 19. Qxe2 Rxe2 20. g4 $16 {This was definitely a
better try for White. I have two knights for a rook, which isn't good
compensation if he can force the trade of one of the rooks. Besides, he is two
pawns up! I evaluate this position as objectively won for White.}) 15... Re1+ {
[%emt 0:01:13] I just want to create something and supposedly prevent Ne2.} 16.
Rxe1 {[%emt 0:00:06] Forced.} Qxe1+ {[%emt 0:00:00] Forced.} 17. Nd1 {[%emt 0:
00:06] I think this is better than Qd1, because otherwise I go Qf2 and
threaten Re1, as well as the g2 and f4 pawns. Therefore, I would say this is
practically forced.} (17. Qd1 Qf2 {I guess this is equal at worst. I will
probably equalize my material situation, and White's coordination is not very
good. Well the reason it is not good coordination is because he cannot do
anything unless he repositions his pieces.}) 17... Ne4 $4 {[%emt 0:01:39] Here
is another critical moment! Ne4 is a strategic idea with a tactical blunder!
About the strategy part, okay so first my idea was to invite my opponent to
make a mistake. I had seen in advance that Qe2 would fail in view of Nf2, and
if Qxe1 then Rxe1 wins at least the knight! Alongside inviting my opponent to
make a blunder, I also threaten Nf2 anyway as well as Nxd2 or Qxd2. Finally,
my d7 knight felt kind of stuck so I wanted to maybe bring it to f6. The
reason why it is a tactical blunder is because of Bxe4 Rxe4 Qg4! I completely
missed this idea, but the tactic is simple.} 18. Bxe4 {[%emt 0:07:23]
Definitely the best move due to tactics. Again I was threatening Nf2 stuff, on
top of the Nxd2 or Qxd2 stuff.} Rxe4 {[%emt 0:00:01] Forced. Qxe4 also suffers
the Qg4 problem, so it is not even worth trying to invite an anyway-losing
queen trade. This could be one of my more miraculous saves in my classical
chess career!} 19. c4 $4 {[%emt 0:00:25] Missing the tactic and allowing me to
get back in the game! I understand the idea of course, he wants to unpin his
knight with Kc2. However I allow him no time to do this.} (19. Qg4 $18 {I saw
this after I recaptured the bishop on e4, but thankfully my opponent didn't
see it. This would win on the spot, of course, for I do not see any way to
sufficiently parry both Qxd7 and Qxg7 mate. I guess I was going to try to play
Ne5 or something, but actually I am just so low in material that I have no
firepower.}) 19... Re2 {[%emt 0:00:38] Stopping Kc2, eyeing down g2, and
contemplating a future attack on d2 with my knight and bishop.} 20. Qd3 $2 {
[%emt 0:02:51] This move Qd3 made me kind of happy, since I now saw that I had
the queen as a target of attack with tempo with my knight. I am not sure what
else he should try, maybe just Bc3. I think this was better than Qd3. If Bc3
then I guess I would go Bd4 possibly. However, Qd3 would improve in that case.}
(20. Bc3 $1 Bd4 21. Qd3 $14 {I evaluate this as holding for White and
therefore either winning or drawn.}) 20... Bb4 $1 {[%emt 0:00:59] Obviously,
the d7 knight is poisoned. Also, Nc5 is coming! The onslaught is almost
finally finished.} 21. Bc3 {[%emt 0:03:38] This is the only move.} Nc5 {[%emt
0:03:08]} 22. Qd4 {[%emt 0:02:34]} (22. Qd8+ Re8 23. Qd4 {Improving his line,
although the access to the e2 square could possibly come in handy for the c5
knight? I still think this is a much better line though, because I don't have
immediate pressure on d2. I would evaluate the assessment as unclear.} Bxc3 $13
(23... Ne6 $2 {This is one of the points of inserting the check first. Ne6 is
no good anymore! Now I must take via Bxc3.} 24. Qe5 $1 {Forcing a queen trade,
since b4 also hangs. If Ba3+ then the knight gets unpinned and White must be
winning.} Ba3+ 25. Kc2 Qf1 26. Ne3 $18)) 22... Ne6 $1 {[%emt 0:02:13] This is
a pretty move and part of the reason I am proud of this game. This has a dual
protection on g7 and on d8. It also attacks the f4 pawn allowing me to come in
with d3! This feels like an Alekhine move... Alekhine has amazing geometric
vision and this is one of those cool geometric moves. It is not as spectacular
as Alekhine's game where he works out a geometric bishop-based tactic
basically 10 moves in advance and wins material at the end of the line, but it
just has that nature where there is a dynamic and strategic idea on top of it.
Not only I attack the queen and protect all the necessary squares, but also if
my knight comes to f4 then I have a strong future attack based around the e2
and d3 squares! I think that Qd4 was inaccurate. Instead, maybe he should have
played Qd8+ anyway.} 23. Qd7 {[%emt 0:08:05] This looks sensible of course,
but I feel much better. I think that my Ne6 move must have just forced a win.}
Bxc3 $1 {[%emt 0:00:59] The point is that I wanted to take without ever
allowing a queen recapture. Now that the queen doesn't guard the bishop, I
hurt White's pawns and occupy the second rank. At last, the assault continues
thanks to the occupied file. A check like Qc8+ just makes it all worse,
because after Nf8 dxc3, there is simply Qd2 mate incoming. The White queen
must help monitor some defensive duties.} 24. dxc3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} (24. Qc8+
$4 Nf8 25. dxc3 Qd2+ 26. Kb1 Qc2#) 24... Nxf4 {[%emt 0:00:32] One of my plans
was to move the rook back somewhere like e8, so that I could play Ne2.
Therefore, my opponent's move in the game, Qd8+, only helped me. By the way, I
had worked out that after a move like Re8, there is no satisfactory square on
the d file for the queen. This leads to the crux of the beauty of the entire
game! The queen has no good home on the d file! See my comments after Qd8+ Re8
for a further explanation.} 25. Qd8+ $2 {[%emt 0:01:57] Helping me get my
knight to e2 in the near future.} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:07] Here we go! Where does
the White queen go now? If she goes anywhere that is not on the d file, then
Nd3+ Kc2 Re2+ Kxd3 Qd2 just mates. Okay, which squares on the d file can she
go? She cannot go to d6, d5, d4, or d3. In the game White went to d4 but that
gets forked by Ne2+ of course. This leaves the squares d7, and d2. What is the
problem with Qd2? Well, I had calculated a very cute combination. Qd2 Qxd2!
Kxd2 Re2+ Kc1 Nb3+ Kb1 Rd2! I think this is the only way to tie White down,
but as it turns out, he cannot save the knight. If the knight ever moves then
there is Rb2 mate! Okay, what happens after Qd7? Then I just play Qe2 and now
my typical Nd3 ideas are coming. This is clearly decisive and doesn't require
any calculation to find a winning path when the path comes.} 26. Qd4 $4 {[%emt
0:03:45] My opponent probably made this fork blunder under intense pressure of
being attacked all the time.} (26. Qd7 Qe2 $1 {Any move besides Qd2 fails to
parry Nd3+ followed by Qxd1. However, Qd2 would transpose to the original Qd2
variation.} 27. Qd2 Qxd2+ $19) (26. Qd2 Qxd2+ $1 27. Kxd2 Re2+ 28. Kc1 Nd3+ 29.
Kb1 Rd2 $1 {There is nothing White can do!} 30. Ne3 $2 Rb2#) 26... Ne2+ {[%emt
0:00:02] rune_raider won by resignation. This game was very fun, because I
essentially crafted the double pawn sacrifice on d5 and on b7 over the board.
I also managed to carry on a very unsound yet uncompromising attack very
quickly. Throughout the game, I was making threat after threat, which is
unusual to have. I did not want to let a Bird's player to get away with
playing the Birds! It is clearly a move that you don't want to believe is
actually sound. I am that kind of player, at least. I am the kind of player
that is normally very obsessive about the objective or concrete evaluation of
the opening outcome rather than the practical implications it reaps. I have
lost many games from unsound opening ideas or early middlegame ideas, because
I knew they weren't good if I hadn't seen it before, thus I didn't take them
as seriously. I think from this game I can learn that I should not take the
opening so seriously! I think most of my preparation stuff should be focused
on things like tactical geometry, how to seize control of the position, and
endgames. The middlegame skills should totally translate to my opening skills.
I think I should be able to play a creative opening idea with precision over
the board without any troubles if I just improve my overall ability to play
"random positions" and stuff like that. On the other hand, I still believe I
need to work on studying the patterns that arise from the middlegame out of a
specific opening structure. All in all, instructive game for me, and I am
quite proud of it! I took quite a big risk against a 1700-1800 rated player.
Often times I've heard the advice that a higher rated opponent should play
simple against a lower rated opponent. I decided to break that advice this
game and see what happens.} 0-1

[Event "2020 SPFGI Online"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.06.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Peycheva, Girgana"]
[Black "Chen, Minda"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E48"]
[Annotator "Minda Chen"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.27"]

1. d4 {G15 2 sec increment. After 3 rounds, there was only a group of about 30
people still on perfect scores. I had played down the first 3 rounds and as
expected was paired up.} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nge2
cxd4 7. exd4 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Bc2 Re8 11. Qd3 g6 {The first real
divergance from theory, but still a very reasonable move. Rd1 is the most
popular continuation} 12. Ne4 Be7 $5 (12... Bf8 {Another possiblility that I
quickly dismissed in the game, thinking that Bg5 was a serious hindrance, even
though it wasn't} 13. Bg5 f6 14. Bd2 Bg7) 13. a3 f5 14. N4c3 Bf6 15. Bb3 Nxc3
16. bxc3 Kh8 {To get away from the diagonal. Kg7 seems to invite Qh3} 17. Rd1
b6 $6 {My light squared bishop looks very awkward, but b6 also looks a bit
compromising. I also just wanted to make a move as I had almost 4 mins less
than my opponent already, which considering this was rapid, was a lot} 18. Bb2
$6 {Her bishop was probably better placed elsewhere, possibly e3} Na5 19. Ba2
Qc7 20. Rac1 Bb7 21. c4 Rad8 22. Bc3 Be4 $6 {I guess I had some vague ideas
about harrasing her rooks with my bishops, and allowing the bishop capture on
a5 with the plan of exploiting the b file with my rooks} 23. Qg3 Qg7 $14 (23...
Qxg3 24. Nxg3 Bc6 25. Bxa5 bxa5 26. Ne2 $11) 24. Bxa5 bxa5 25. Qc3 Bg5 26. Ra1
Bf6 27. Bb3 Rb8 28. Ba4 Red8 {[%emt 0:00:07] It was around here that I thought
my opponent didn't really have a plan. However, I only had 3 minutes remaining
compared to her} 29. h3 g5 $6 {Probably would not recommend this in a
classical game, but it was rapid so I guess it's alright?} 30. Bb5 f4 31. f3 $6
{She was probably concerned with me playing f3 the next move, but the engine
doesn't mind the ruined pawn structure and would just take the pawn} (31. Rac1
f3 32. gxf3 Bf5) 31... Bf5 32. Kh2 h5 {Now it looks like I have something going
} 33. Qxa5 $2 (33. Ba4 g4 34. Bc2) 33... g4 34. Nxf4 $4 {[#]} Bxd4 $4 {[%emt 0:
00:18] With less than a minute on my clock, I missed my one clear chance to
get a winning advantage. The position still looks very complicated though, and
while there aren't clear material gains, in some lines there are mates in} (
34... gxf3 $1 35. gxf3 Rxd4 36. Rxd4 $19 {White's king is too exposed, and
black's bishop pair looks amazing} (36. Nxh5 Be5+ 37. f4 $4 Rxf4 38. Nxg7 Rg4+
39. Kh1 Be4# {would've been a very cool finish}) 36... Bxd4 (36... Rg8 37. Qe1
Bxd4) 37. Rd1) 35. Nxh5 Qe5+ 36. f4 g3+ $6 {some very time trouble induced
panic moves up ahead} 37. Kh1 Qe4 $4 38. Nxg3 Qxf4 39. Nxf5 $18 Bxa1 $4 {Welp
there goes my rook} 40. Rxd8+ Rxd8 41. Qxd8+ Kh7 42. Qh4+ Qxh4 43. Nxh4 Be5 44.
Nf3 Bd6 45. Nd4 e5 46. Nf5 Bxa3 47. Kg1 Kg6 48. g4 Kg5 49. Kg2 Kf4 50. Bd7 e4
51. Bc6 Bc5 52. Ng3 e3 53. Ne2+ Ke5 54. Kf3 Bb6 55. g5 Kf5 56. h4 a5 57. Bd7+
Kg6 58. Kg4 {The game was a fun one, but I didn't manage my time well and had
very little time to think on the complicated positions. I finished the
tournament on 5/7, which was pretty decent, although due to the large pool, I
don't think I played anyone within 200 points of my rating. My opponent
actually got 3rd after an extra day of playoffs the next day so congrats to
her!} 1-0

